The history of Old English and its development

The Old English Adjective.

In all historical Indo-European languages adjectives possess

practically the same morphological features as the nouns, the the sequence

of these two parts of speech is an ordinary thing in Indo-European.

However, the Nostratic theory (the one which unites Altaic, Uralic,

Semitic, Dravidian and Indo-European language families into one Nostratic

super-family, once speaking a common Proto-Nostratic language) represented

by Illych-Svitych and many other famous linguists, states that adjectives

in this Proto-Nostratic tongue were morphologically closer to the verbs

than to the nouns.

This theory is quite interesting, because even in Proto-Indo-European,

a language which was spoken much later than Proto-Nostratic, there are some

proofs of the former predicative function of the adjectives. In other

families of the super-family this function is even more clear. In

Altaic languages, and also in Korean and Japanese, which are originally

Altaic, the adjective plays the part of the predicate, and in Korean, for

example, the majority of adjectives are predicative. It means that though

they always denote the quality of the noun, they act the same way as verbs

which denote action. Adjective "red" is actually translated from Japanese

as "to be red", and the sentence Bara-wa utsukusii will mean "the rose is

beautiful", while bara is "a rose", -wa is the nominative marker, and

utsukusii is "to be beautiful". So no verb here, and the adjective is a

predicate. This structure is typical for many Altaic languages, and

probably was normal for Proto-Nostratic as well.

The Proto-Indo-European language gives us some stems which are hard to

denote whether they used to mean an adjective or a verb. Some later

branches reflect such stems as verbs, but other made them adjectives. So it

was the Proto-Indo-European epoch where adjectives as the part of speech

began to transform from a verbal one to a nominal one. And all Indo-

European branches already show the close similarity of the structure of

adjectives and nouns in the language. So does the Old English language,

where adjective is one of the nominal parts of speech.

As well as the noun, the adjective can be declined in case, gender and

number. Moreover, the instrumental case which was discussed before was

preserved in adjectives much stronger than in nouns. Adjectives must follow

sequence with nouns which they define - thet is why the same adjective can

be masculine, neuter and feminine and therefore be declined in two

different types: one for masculine and neuter, the other for feminine

nouns. The declension is more or less simple, it looks much like the

nominal system of declension, though there are several important

differences. Interesting to know that one-syllable adjectives

("monosyllabic") have different declension than two-syllable ones

("disyllabic"). See for yourselves:

Strong Declension

a, у-stems

Monosyllabic

Sg.

Masc. Neut. Fem.

N blжc (black) blжc blacu

G blaces blaces blжcre

D blacum blacum blжcre

A blжcne blжc blace

I blace blace -

Pl.

N blace blacu blaca

G blacra blacra blacra

D blacum blacum blacum

A blace blacu blaca

Here "I" means that very instrumental case, answering the question (by

what? with whom? with the help of what?).

Disyllabic

Masc. Neut. Fem.

Sg.

N йadig (happy) йadig йadigu

G йadiges йadiges йadigre

D йadigum йadigum йadigre

A йadigne йadig йadige

I йadige йadige

Pl.

N йadige йadigu йadiga

G йadigra йadigra йadigra

D йadigum йadigum йadigum

A йadige йadigu йadigu

So not many new endings: for accusative singular we have -ne, and for

genitive plural -ra, which cannot be met in the declension of nouns. The

difference between monosyllabic and disyllabic is the accusative plural

feminine ending -a / -u. That's all.

ja, jу-stems (swйte - sweet)

Sg. Pl.

Masc. Neut. Fem. Masc. Neut. Fem.

N swйte swйte swйtu swйte swйtu swйta

G swйtes swйtes swйtre swйtra swйtra swйtra

D swйtum swйtum swйtre swйtum swйtum swйtum

A swйtne swйte swйte swйte swйtu swйta

I swйte swйte -

wa, wу-stems

Sg.

Masc. Neut. Fem.

N nearu (narrow) nearu nearu

G nearwes nearwes nearore

D nearwum nearwum nearore

A nearone nearu nearwe

I nearwe nearwe

Pl.

N nearwe nearu nearwa

G nearora nearora nearora

D nearwum nearwum nearwum

A nearwe nearu nearwa

Actually, some can just omit all those examples - the adjectival

declension is the same as a whole for all stems, as concerns the strong

type. In general, the endings look the following way, with very few

varieties (note that "-" means the null ending):

[pic]

As for weak adjectives, they also exist in the language. The thing is

that one need not learn by heart which adjective is which type - strong or

weak, as you should do with the nouns. If you have a weak noun as a

subject, its attributive adjective will be weak as well. So - a strong

adjective for a strong noun, a weak adjective for a weak noun, the rule is

as simple as that.

Thus if you say "a black tree" that will be blжc trйow (strong), and "a

black eye" will sound blace йage. Here is the weak declension example

(blaca - black):

Sg. Pl.

Masc. Neut. Fem.

N blaca blace blace blacan

G blacan blacan blacan blжcra

D blacan blacan blacan blacum

A blacan blace blacan blacan

Weak declension has a single plural for all genders, which is pleasant

for those who don't want to remeber too many forms. In general, the weak

declension is much easier.

The last thing to be said about the adjectives is the degrees of

comparison. Again, the traditional Indo-European structure is preserved

here: three degrees (absolutive, comparative, superlative) - though some

languages also had the so-called "equalitative" grade; the special suffices

for forming comparatives and absolutives; suppletive stems for several

certain adjectives.

The suffices we are used to see in Modern English, those -er and -est

in weak, weaker, the weakest, are the direct descendants of the Old English

ones. At that time they sounded as -ra and -est. See the examples:

earm (poor) - earmra - earmost

blжc (black) - blжcra - blacost

Many adjectives changed the root vowel - another example of the Germanic

ablaut:

eald (old) - ieldra - ieldest

strong - strengra - strengest

long - lengra - lengest

geong (young) - gingra - gingest

The most widespread and widely used adjectives always had their

degrees formed from another stem, which is called "suppletive" in

linguistics. Many of them are still seen in today's English:

gуd (good) - betera - betst (or sйlra - sйlest)

yfel (bad) - wiersa - wierest

micel (much) - mбra - mбйst

lэtel (little) - lж'ssa - lж'st

fear (far) - fierra - fierrest, fyrrest

nйah (near) - nйarra - nнehst, nэhst

ж'r (early) - ж'rra - ж'rest

fore (before) - furюra - fyrest (first)

Now you see what the word "first" means - just the superlative degree

from the adjective "before, forward". The same is with nнehst from nйah

(near) which is now "next".

Old English affixation for adjectives:

1. -ede (group "adjective stem + substantive stem") - micelhйafdede

(large-headed)

2. -ihte (from substantives with mutation) - юirnihte (thorny)

3. -ig (from substantives with mutation) - hбlig (holy), mistig (misty)

4. -en, -in (with mutation) - gylden (golden), wyllen (wуllen)

5. -isc (nationality) - Englisc, Welisc, mennisc (human)

6. -sum (from stems of verbs, adjectives, substantives) - sibbsum

(peaceful), hнersum (obedient)

7. -feald (from stems of numerals, adjectives) - юrнefeald (threefold)

8. -full (from abstract substantive stems) - sorgfull (sorrowful)

9. -lйбs (from verbal and nominal stems) - slжplйбs (sleepless)

10. -lнc (from substantive and adjective stems) - eorюlнc (earthly)

11. -weard (from adjective, substantive, adverb stems) - inneweard

(internal), hбmweard (homeward)

The Old English Pronoun.

Pronouns were the only part of speech in Old English which preserved the

dual number in declension, but only this makes them more archaic than the

rest parts of speech. Most of pronouns are declined in numnber, case and

gender, in plural the majority have only one form for all genders.

We will touch each group of Old English pronouns and comment on them.

1.Personal pronouns

[pic]

Through the last 1500 years mнn became mine, gй turned into you (ye as

a colloquial variant). But changes are still significant: the 2nd person

singular pronouns disappeared from the language, remaining only in poetic

speech and in some dialects in the north of England. This is really a

strange feature - I can hardly recall any other Indo-European language

which lacks the special pronoun for the 2nd person singular (French tu,

German du, Russian ty etc.). The polite form replaced the colloquial one,

maybe due to the English traditional "ladies and gentlemen" customs.

Another extreme exists in Irish Gaelic, which has no polite form of

personal pronoun, and you turn to your close friend the same way as you

spoke with a prime minister - the familiar word, translated into French as

tu. It can sound normal for English, but really funny for Slavic, Baltic,

German people who make a thorough distinction between speaking to a friend

and to a stranger

2. Demonstrative pronouns ('I' means the instrumental case)

[pic]

3. Interrogative pronouns

N hwб hwжt

G hwжs hwжs

D hwж'm hwж'm

A hwone hwжt

I - hwэ, hwн

These pronouns, which actually mean the masculine and the neuter

varieties of the same pronoun, derive from Proto-Indo-European *kwis, with

*kw becoming hw in Germanic languages. In Gothic the combination hw was

considered as one sound which is another proof that the Indo-European the

labiovelar sound kw was a single sound with some specific articulation.

Later Germanic languages changed the sound in a different way: in

Norwegian it remained as hv, in German turned into w (as in wer 'who', was

'what'), in English finally changed into wh pronounced in most cases [w],

but somewhere also like [h] or [hw].

Interesting that the instrumental of the word hwжt, once being a pronoun

form, later became the word why in English. So 'why?' is originally an

instrumental case of the interrogative pronoun.

Other interrogative pronouns, or adverbs, as they are sometimes

called, include the following, all beginning with hw:

hwilc 'which?' - is declined as the strong adjective (see adjectives above)

hwonne 'when?' - this and following are not declined, naturally

hwж'r 'where?'

hwider 'whither?'

hwonan 'whence?'

4. Other kinds of pronouns

They include definite, indefinite, negative and relative, all typical for

Indo-European languages. All of them still exist in Modern English, and all

of them are given here:

a) definite

gehwб (every) - declined the same way as hwб

gehwilc (each),

жgюer (either),

ж'lc (each),

swilc (such) - all declined like strong adjectives

sй ylca (the same) - declined like a weak adjective

b) indefinite

sum (some),

ж'nig (any) - both behave the same way as strong adjectives

c) negative

nбn, nж'nig (no, none) - declined like strong adjectives

d) relative

юe (which, that)

sйюe (which, that) - they are not declined

In Proto-Indo-European and in many ancient Indo-European languages there

was a special kind of declension calleed pronominal, using only by pronouns

and opposed to the one used by nouns, adjectives and numerals. Old English

lost it, and its pronouns use all the same endings as the nouns and

adjectives. Maybe the only inflection which remembers the Proto-language

times, is the neuter nominative -t in hwжt and южt, the ancient ending for

inanimate (inactive) nouns and pronouns.

The Old English Numeral.

It is obvious that all Indo-European languages have the general trend

of transformation

from the synthetic (or inflectional) stage to the analytic one. At least

for the latest 1,000 years this trend could be observed in all branches of

the family. The level of this analitization process in each single language

can be estimated by several features, their presence or absence in the

language. One of them is for sure the declension of the numerals. In Proto-

Indo-European all numerals, both cardinal and ordinal, were declined, as

they derived on a very ancient stage from nouns or adjectives, originally

being a declined part of speech. There are still language groups within the

family with decline their numerals: among them, Slavic and Baltic are the

most typical samples. They practically did not suffer any influence of the

analytic processes. But all other groups seem to have been influenced

somehow. Ancient Italic and Hellenic languages left the declension only for

the first four cardinal pronouns (from 1 to 4), the same with ancient

Celtic.

The Old English language preserves this system of declension only for

three numerals. It is therefore much easier to learn, though not for

English speakers I guess - Modern English lacks declension at all.

Here is the list of the cardinal numerals:

[pic]

Ordinal numerals use the suffix -ta or -юa, etymologically a common Indo-

European one (*-to-).

[pic]

The Old English Adverb.

Adverbs can be either primary (original adverbs) or derive from the

adjectives. In fact, adverbs appeared in the language rather late, and

eraly Proto-Indo-European did not use them, but later some auxiliary nouns

and pronouns losing their declension started to play the role of adverbial

modifiers. That's how thew primary adverbs emerged.

In Old English the basic primary adverbs were the following ones:

юa (then)

юonne (then)

юж'r (there)

юider (thither)

nъ (now)

hйr (here)

hider (hither)

heonan (hence)

sуna (soon)

oft (often)

eft (again)

swб (so)

hwнlum (sometimes).

Secondary adverbs originated from the instrumental singular of the

neuter adjectives of strong declension. They all add the suffix -e: wide

(widely), dйope (deeply), fжste (fast), hearde (hard). Another major

sugroup of them used the suffixes -lнc, -lнce from more complexed

adjectives: bealdlнce (boldly), freondlнce (in a friendly way).

Adverbs, as well as adjectives, had their degrees of comparison:

wнde - wнdor - wнdost (widely - more widely - most widely)

long - leng (long - longer)

feorr (far) - fierr

sуfte (softly) - sйft

йaюe (easily) - нeю

wel (well) - betre - best

yfele (badly) - wiers, wyrs - wierst

micele (much) - mбre - mж'st

The Old English Verb.

Old English system had strong and weak verbs: the ones which used the

ancient Germanic type of conjugation (the Ablaut), and the ones which just

added endings to their past and participle forms. Strong verbs make the

clear majority. According to the traditional division, which is taken form

Gothic and is accepted by modern linguistics, all strong verbs are

distinguished between seven classes, each having its peculiarities in

conjugation and in the stem structure. It is easy to define which verb is

which class, so you will not swear trying to identify the type of

conjugation of this or that verb (unlike the situation with the

substantives).

Here is the table which is composed for you to see the root vowels of all

strong verb classes. Except the VII class, they all have exact stem vowels

for all four main forms:

[pic]

Now let us see what Old English strong verbs of all those seven

classes looked like and what were their main four forms. I should mention

that besides the vowel changes in the stem, verbal forms also changed stem

consonants very often. The rule of such changes is not mentioned

practically in any books on the Old English language, though there is some.

See for yourselves this little chart where the samples of strong verb

classes are given with their four forms:

Infinitive, Past singular, Past plural, Participle II (or Past Participle)

Class I

wrнtan (to write), wrбt, writon, writen

snнpan (to cut), snбю, snidon, sniden

Other examples: belнfan (stay), clнfan (cling), ygrнpan (clutch), bнtan

(bite), slнtan (slit), besmнtan (dirty), gewнtan (go), blнcan (glitter),

sнcan (sigh), stнgan (mount), scнnan (shine), бrнsan (arise), lнюan (go).

Class II

bйodan (to offer), bйad, budon, boden

cйosan (to choose), cйas, curon, coren

Other examples: crйopan (creep), clйofan (cleave), flйotan (fleet),

gйotan (pour), grйotan (weep), nйotan (enjoy), scйotan (shoot), lйogan

(lie), brйowan (brew), drйosan (fall), frйosan (freeze), forlйosan (lose).

Class III

III a) a nasal consonant

drincan (to drink), dranc, druncon, druncen

Other: swindan (vanish), onginnan (begin), sinnan (reflect), winnan

(work), gelimpan (happen), swimman (swim).

III b) l + a consonant

helpan (to help), healp, hulpon, holpen

Other: delfan (delve), swelgan (swallow), sweltan (die), bellan (bark),

melcan (milk).

III c) r, h + a consonant

steorfan (to die), stearf, sturfon, storfen

weorюan (to become), wearю, wurdon, worden

feohtan (to fight), feaht, fuhton, fohten

More: ceorfan (carve), hweorfan (turn), weorpan (throw), beorgan

(conceal), beorcan (bark).

Class IV

stelan (to steal), stж'l, stж'lon, stolen

beran (to bear), bж'r, bж'ron, boren

More: cwelan (die), helan (conceal), teran (tear), brecan (break).

Class V

tredan (to tread), trж'd, trж'don, treden

cweюan (to say), cwж'ю, cwж'don, cweden

More: metan (measure), swefan (sleep), wefan (weave), sprecan (to

speak), wrecan (persecute), lesan (gather), etan (eat), wesan (be).

Class VI

faran (to go), fуr, fуron, faren

More: galan (sing), grafan (dig), hladan (lade), wadan (walk), dragan

(drag), gnagan (gnaw), bacan (bake), scacan (shake), wascan (wash).

Class VII

hбtan (to call), hйt, hйton, hбten

feallan (to fall), feoll, feollon, feallen

cnйawan (to know), cnйow, cnйowon, cnбwen

More: blondan (blend), ondrж'dan (fear), lбcan (jump), scadan (divide),

fealdan (fold), healdan (hold), sponnan (span), bйatan (beat), blуwan

(flourish), hlуwan (low), spуwan (flourish), mбwan (mow), sбwan (sow),

rбwan (turn).

So the rule from the table above is observed carefully. The VII class was

made especially for those verbs which did not fit into any of the six

classes. In fact the verbs of the VII class are irregular and cannot be

explained by a certain exact rule, though they are quite numerous in the

language.

Examining verbs of Old English comparing to those of Modern English it

is easy to catch the point of transformation. Not only the ending -an in

the infinitive has dropped, but the stems were subject to many changes some

of which are not hard to find. For example, the long н in the stem gives i

with an open syllable in the modern language (wrнtan > write, scнnan >

shine). The same can be said about a, which nowadays is a in open syllables

pronounced [ж] (hladan > lade). The initial combination sc turns to sh; the

open e was transformed into ea practically everywhere (sprecan > speak,

tredan > tread, etc.). Such laws of transformation which you can gather

into a small table help to recreate the Old word from a Modern English one

in case you do not have a dictionary in hand, and therefore are important

for reconstruction of the languages.

Weak verbs in Old English (today's English regular verbs) were conjugated

in a simpler way than the strong ones, and did not use the ablaut

interchanges of the vowel stems. Weak verbs are divided into three classes

which had only slight differences though. They did have the three forms -

the infinitive, the past tense, the participle II. Here is the table.

Class I

Regular verbs

Inf. Past PP

dйman (to judge), dйmde, dйmed

hнeran (to hear), hнerde, hнered

nerian (to save), nerede, nered

styrian (to stir), styrede, styred

fremman (to commit), fremede, fremed

cnyssan (to push), cnysede, cnysed

When the suffix is preceded by a voiceless consonant the ending changes a

little bit:

cйpan (to keep), cйpte, cйpt / cйped

grйtan (to greet), grйtte, grйt / grйted

If the verb stem ends in consonant plus d or t:

sendan (to send), sende, send / sended

restan (to rest), reste, rest / rested

Irregular

sellan (to give), sealde, seald

tellan (to tell), tealde, teald

cwellan (to kill), cwealde, cweald

tж'can (to teach), tбhte, tбht

rж'can (to reach), rбhte, rбht

bycgan (to buy), bohte, boht

sйcan (to seek), sуhte, sуht

wyrcan (to work), worhte, worht

юencan (to think), юуhte, юуht

bringan (to bring), brуhte, brуht

Other examples of the I class weak verbs just for your interest: berian

(beat), derian (harm), erian (plough), ferian (go), herian (praise),

gremman (be angry), wennan (accustom), clynnan (sound), dynnan (resound),

hlynnan (roar), hrissan (tremble), sceююan (harm), wecgean (move), fйran

(go), lж'ran (teach), drжfan (drive), fэsan (hurry), drэgean (dry), hнepan

(heap), mйtan (to meet), wэscean (wish), byldan (build), wendan (turn),

efstan (hurry). All these are regular.

Class II

macian (to make), macode, macod

lufian (to love), lufode, lufod

hopian (to hope), hopode, hopod

Tis class makes quite a small group of verbs, all of them having -o- before

the past endings. Other samples: lofian (praise), stician (pierce), eardian

(dwell), scйawian (look), weorюian (honour), wundrian (wonder), fжstnian

(fasten), mжrsian (glorify).

Class III

habban (to have), hжfde, hжfd

libban (to live), lifde, lifd

secgan (to say), sжgde, sжgd

hycgan (to think), hogde, hogod

юrйagan (to threaten), юrйade, юrйad

smйagan (to think), smйade, smйad

frйogan (to free), frйode, frйod

fйogan (to hate), fйode, fйod

Old English verbs are conjugated having two tenses - the Present tense

and the Past tense, and three moods - indicative, subjunctive, and

imperative. Of these, only the subjunctive mood has disappeared in the

English language, acquiring an analytic construction instead of

inflections; and the imperative mood has coincided with the infinitive form

(to write - write!). In the Old English period they all looked different.

The common table of the verb conjugation is given below. Here you

should notice that the Present tense has the conjugation for all three

moods, while the Past tense - for only two moods (no imperative in the Past

tense, naturally). Some more explanation should be given about the stem

types.

In fact all verbal forms were generated in Old English from three verb

stems, and each verb had its own three ones: the Infinitive stem, the Past

Singular stem, the Past Plural stem. For the verb wrнtan, for example,

those three stems are: wrнt- (infinitive without the ending -an), wrбt-

(the Past singular), writ- (the Past plural without the ending -on). The

table below explains where to use this or that stem.

[pic]

Additionally, the participles (Participle I and Participle II) are

formed by the suffix -ende to the Infinitive stem (participle I), or the

prefix ge- + the Past Plural stem + the ending -en (Participle II).

Tired of the theory? Here is the preactice. We give several examples of the

typical verbs - first strong, then weak, then irregular.

Class I strong - wrнtan (to write)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imper. ¦ Ind. Subj.

Sg. 1 wrнte - ¦ wrбt

2 wrнtest wrнte wrнt ¦ write } wrнte

3 wrнteю - ¦ wrбt

Pl. wrнtaю wrнten 2 wrнtaю ¦ writon writen

Infinitive Participle

wrнtan I wrнtende II gewriten

Class II weak - lufian (to love)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg. 1 lufie - lufode

2 lufast }lufie lufa lufodest } lufode

3 lufaю - lufode

Pl. lufiaю lufien 2 lufiaю lufodon lufoden

Part.

I lufiende II gelufod

Class III strong - bindan (to bind)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg. 1 binde - ¦ band, bond

2 bindest } binde bind ¦ bunde } bunde

3 bindeю - ¦ band, bond

Pl. bindaю binden bindaю ¦ bundon bunden

Inf. Part.

bindan I bindende II gebunden

Class V strong - sйon (to see)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg.1 sйo - seah

2 sнehst } sйo seoh sбwe } sбwe,

3 sнehю - seah sжge

Pl. sйoю sйon 2 sйoю sawon sбwen

Participle

I sйonde II gesewen, gesegen

Class VII strong - fуn (to catch)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg. 1 fу - feng

2 fйhst } fу fуh fenge } fenge

3 fйhю - feng

Pl. fую fуn 2 fую fengon fengen

Participle

I fуnde II gefangen, gefongen

Class III weak - secgan (to say)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg.1 secge - sжgde

2 sжgst }secge sжge sжgdest }sжgde

3 sжgю - sжgde

Pl. secgaю secgen 2 secgaю sжgdon sжgden

Part.

I secgende II gesжgd

Class III weak - libban (to live)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg.1 libbe - lifde

2 liofast }libbe liofa lifdest } lifde

3 liofaю - lifde

Pl. libbaю libben 2 libbaю lifdon lifden

Part.

I libbende II gelifd

A special group is made by the so-called Present-Preterite verbs, which

are conjugated combining two varieties of the usual verb conjugation:

strong and weak. These verbs, at all not more than seven, are nowadays

called modal verbs in English.

Present-Preterite verbs have their Present tense forms generated from the

Strong Past, and the Past tense, instead, looks like the Present Tense of

the Weak verbs. The verbs we present here are the following: witan (to

know), cunnan (can), юurfan (to need), dearan (to dare), munan (to

remember), sculan (shall), magan (may).

Present of witan (= strong Past)

Ind. Subj. Imp.

Sg. 1 wбt -

2 wast } wite wite

3 wбt -

Pl. witon 2 witen witaю

Past (= Weak)

Ind. Subj.

Sg.1 wisse, wiste

2 wissest, wistest } wisse, wiste

3 wisse, wiste

Pl. wisson, wiston wissen, wisten

Participles: I witende, II witen, gewiten

cunnan (can)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Ind. Subj.

Sg. 1 cann cъюe

2 canst } cunne cъюest } cъюe

3 cann cъюe

Pl. cunnon cunnen cъюon cъюen

юurfan (need)

Sg. 1 юearf юorfte

2 юearft } юurfe юorftest } юorfte

3 юearf юorfte

Pl. юurfon юurfen юorfton юorften

magan (may)

Sg. 1 mжg meahte mihte, mihten

2 meaht } mжge meahtest

3 mжg meahte

Pl. magon mжgen meahton

The main difference of verbs of this type in modern English is their

expressing modality, i.e. possibility, obligation, necessity. They do not

require the particle to before the infinitive which follows them. In Old

English in general no verb requires this particle before the infinitive. In

fact, this to before the infinitive form meant the preposition of

direction.

And now finally a few irregular verbs, which used several different stems

for their tenses. These verbs are very important in Old English and are met

very often in the texts: wesan (to be), bйon (to be), gбn (to go), dуn (to

do), willan (will). Mind that there was no Future tense in the Old English

language, and the future action was expressed by the Present forms, just

sometimes using verbs of modality, willan (lit. "to wish to do") or sculan

(lit. "to have to do").

wesan (to be) - has got only the Present tense forms, uses the verb bйon in

the Past

Present

Ind. Subj. Imp.

Sg.1 eom -

2 eart } sнe, sэ wes

3 is -

Pl. sind sнen, sэn 2 wesaю

bйon (to be)

Present

Ind. Subj. Imp.

Sg. 1 bйo -

2 bist }bйo bйo

3 biю -

Pl. bйoю bйon 2 bйoю

Past

Ind. Subj.

Sg. 1 wжs

2 wжre } wжre

3 wжs

Pl. wжron wжren

Participle I is bйonde (being).

gбn (to go)

Pres. Past

Ind. Subj. Imp. Ind. Subj.

Sg.1 gб - йode

2 gж'st } gб gб йodest } йode

3 gж'ю - йode

Pl. gбю 2 gбn gбю йodon йoden

Participles:

I gбnde, gangende II gegбn

So there were in fact two verbs meaning 'to be', and both were

colloquial. In Middle English, however, the verb wesan replaced fully the

forms of bйon, and the words bйo (I am), bist (thou art) fell out of use.

The Past tense forms was and were are also derivatives from wesan.

Syntactically, the language had only two main tenses - the Present and

the Past. No progressive (or Continuous) tenses were used, they were

invented only in the Early Middle English period. Such complex tenses as

modern Future in the Past, Future Perfect Continuous did not exist either.

However, some analytic construction were in use, and first of all the

perfective constructions. The example Hie geweorc geworhten hжfdon 'they

have build a fortress' shows the exact Perfect tense, but at that time it

was not the tense really, just a participle construction showing that the

action has been done. Seldom you can also find such Past constructions,

which later became the Past Perfect Tense.

Verb syntax includes a number of suffices and prefixes which can be

met in Old English texts and especially in poetry:

Suffices:

1. -s- (from substantive or adjective stems) - mж'rsian (to announce;

from mж're - famous)

2. -lжc- - nйбlжcan (to approach)

3. -ett- - bliccettan (to sparkle)

Prefixes

1. б- = out of, from - бrнsan (arise), бwakan (awake), бberan (sustain)

2. be- = over, around, by - begбn (go around), beюencan (think over),

behйafdian (behead)

3. for- = destruction or loss - fordуn (destroy), forweorюan (perish)

4. mis- = negation or bad quality - mislнcian (displease)

5. of- = reinfors - ofslйan (kill), oftйon (take away)

6. on- = change or separation - onbindan (unbind), onlъcan (unlock)

7. tу- = destruction - tуbrecan (break)

The Old English Auxiliary Words.

These traditionally include prepositions, conjunctions, different

particles and

interjections. All Indo-European languages have this system of auxiliary

parts of speech, though there are languages which lack some of them.

Japanese, for example, has no prepositions, and the service function in the

sentence belongs to postpositive words which have cases, the same as nouns.

Korean does not use any conjunctions, replacing them by about 50 different

kinds of verbal adverbs. As for Chinese, it simply does not make any

distinction in the sentence between basic and auxiliary words.

Most of Old English prepositions are easily recognizable:

Primary: of (of, out of), жt (to), fram (from), tу (to), wiю (against), in,

of, mid (with), on (on, at), be (by, near, to, because of, about), юurh

(through), under, ofer (over), жfter (after), bufan (above), ъt (out).

Secondary: beforan (before), bъtan (without), benorюan (north of), etc.

жt means 'to' and wiю means 'against'. In Germanic all prepositions divided

into those who used nouns in dative, accusative or genitive. But in the Old

English period this distinction begins to disappear, and only some of the

prepositions use dative (mid, bъtan, sometimes on, in) or genitive (fram,

ъt, жfter).

Conjunctions included the following:

Primary: and / ond (and) , ac (but), gif (if), or.

Secondary: жgюer ge... ge (both... and..., either ... or...), hwonne

(when), юa (when), юonne (when), юйбh (though), южtte (that), жr (before),

swб... swб... (so... as...).

And a few interjections: iб (yes), wб (woe!, wow!), hwжt (there! what!).

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